Skidmore College Saratoga Springs New York

Who seeks and will not take once ’tis offered shall never find it more.’

This rare campus plan of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York was drawn and published locally by Alfrida Storm in 1939. The negative image presents a dramatic overview of the private liberal arts school, first established in 1903 as the Young Women’s Industrial Club. Men were not regularly admitted to undergraduate programs until the early 1970s. According to the university website;

This pictorial map depicts Skidmore College in its first location downtown on Regent Street/Spring Street of Saratoga Springs (as opposed to its current location on North Broadway). Several images represent recreation and courses available at Skidmore College. In 1939, the College was an women’s college for the Arts. Cartoon-like images depict music, tennis, religion, philosophy, theater, among other activities. Two school seals are drawn in the left hand corners. The seal at the top left represents Skidmore School of Arts while the bottom left represents Skidmore College and the traditional academic logo. In the right hand corner is a compass rose that includes some of the disciplines taught at Skidmore: Philosophy, Painting, History, Literature, Sculpture, Science, Languages and Music.”

The map is scarce, with the only known examples I can find located at the Library of Congress and Skidmore College. Also available in a smaller scarf form that is more commonly available on the market.

Sources: Skidmore College; David Rumsey Map Collection (Scarf);